The North Acropolis, from the vantage of the Central Acropolis residential district
"The buildings in the foreground rest on platforms that extend about 16 feet below the level of the present court floor to an earlier buried floor at the same level as that of Court 1, to the west.
Bedrock is estimated to lie 30 to 50 feet below the present floor level, as the natural surface drops from north to south. Earlier constructions extending centuries back in time lie between bedrock and the final plaster floor of this court.
Structure 5D-61 [to the right], now partially cleared and consolidated, faces east. It is a single-story palace containing three rooms, each with its own exterior doorway. A series of platform extensions at the rear of the building led to the eventual construction of 5D-62 [on the left], the two stories of which also face east.
Although the second story seems to have been incorporated in the original construction, it underwent some modification by the addition of the north room and the benches in the main room. The exterior stairway on the south end is integrated as a unit with the walls of the first story."
William R. Coe, Tikal: A Handbook of the Ancient Maya Ruins, p.58
This is our friend Jeff Purcell, fearless climber and photographer extraordinaire. Jeff has taken some of the best high altitude photos on this website. Thanks, Jeff!
Temple I was built by Jasaw Chan K'awiil I who ruled from AD 682 to 734 and who achieved a decisive victory over Calakmul on 5 August 695, This battle initiated Tikal's rebirth as a major military power after a long hiatus.
"The alleged palaces and temples merge into one another by continuous gradations.
Probably a cardinal objective of the Maya architect was to achieve differentiation by height, in many levels marking the rank of the vague functions to which the edifices were dedicated.
At the same time he was always extremely sensitive to the spaces engendered between and among edifices, seeking to achieve large and rhythmically ordered open volumes.
Such open volumes with storeyed changes of level are the most striking formal achievements of Maya architectural history."
George Kubler, The Art and Architecture of Ancient America, p.207
The central platform with the three thatched roof coverings is all that remains of the huge 5D-33-1st , which was demolished by archaeologists to reveal these thatch-covered remnants of earlier constructions hidden within it.
At one time, Temple 5D-33-1st rivaled Temple I in height and scale.
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